Self-Disclosure and SNS Platforms: The Impact of SNS Transparency

Self-disclosure on social networking platforms has attracted attention in Information Systems (IS) research. While studies have connected individual beliefs such as perceived privacy, perceived benefits, and cost to SNS use, less research has examined how characteristics of the social media platform itself shape SNS use. This study extends the literature by examining how the interplay between SNS transparency and individual culture affect user's self-disclosure of personal information as well as factors that shape users’ perceptions on SNS transparency. Drawing on Accountability Theory, Communication Privacy Management Theory, and Culture Theory, we build a comprehensive, integrative model that offers a more holistic view of self-disclosure and the impact of the contextual factors on self-disclosure behaviors. The proposed study will use factorial survey (Vance et al. 2013) to collect data. This study will conceptually develop and operationalize a new construct—SNS transparency—that could help the researchers to gain better understanding of SNS-based self-disclosure and offers insights into how to integrate transparency into social media platforms.